British Pathe | — “Footage from 1915 of Constantinople, in the Ottoman empire (now Istanbul, Turkey), as the allies approach the city during World War One. Tracking shot on the water (Bosporus straits), moving to left. We pass many old buildings, Hagia Sophia, as well as other churches and mosques with domes, minarets, etc. Low […]
New Economic Pogrom: Israeli squatters uproot 5000 olive tree saplings In Palestinian West Bank
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Jewish settlers have uprooted more than 5,000 olive tree saplings in agricultural lands east of the town of Turmusayya in the central West Bank north of Ramallah, locals said Thursday. One of the owners of the lands targeted, Awad Abu Samra, told Ma’an that in the last week settlers have repeatedly raided […]
U.S. Twists Arms to Help Defeat Resolution on Palestine
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – The United States re-asserted its political and economic clout – and its ability to twist arms and perhaps metaphorically break kneecaps – when it successfully lobbied to help defeat a crucial Security Council resolution on the future of Palestine this week. Nadia Hijab, executive director of Al-Shabaka: The […]
New “Sustainable City” in Dubai aims to be Net Carbon Zero
Dubai City | — “The goal of sustainability is to enhance quality of life, without compromising the needs of future generations. Sustainability is achieved by balancing the social economic and environmental needs of humans with the environment. We shall adopt sustainability in our day to day lives, in our thinking, and in all aspects of […]
Israel War Crimes Trial in 2015? Palestinians sign up to join International Criminal Court
RT | — “Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has signed up to join International Criminal Court, paving the way for the investigation on Israel’s possible war crimes in the West Bank. It’s in the wake of the latest Palestinian statehood resolution being rejected by the UN Security Council – where it fell short by a single […]
Nature’s Fireworks: The Northern Lights in Troms, Norway
Euronews | — No Comment TV: “Magnetic midnight in Norway – no comment”
We have so much to Learn from Cuba
By Robert F. Kennedy Jr In this column, Robert F. Kennedy – son of Robert F. (Bobby) Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy – looks behind the U.S. embargo against Cuba which, he argues, has been a “monumental failure” and is loaded with powerful ironies that make the United States look hypocritical to […]
Egypt’s 2014 Thermidor: The Counter-Revolution Wins Out
By Simon Mabon and Lucia Ardovini | (The Conversation) — It was a year of huge transition for Egypt. Gone was the Muslim Brotherhood, in both word and deed, while the military regime of Abdel Fatah al-Sisi strengthened its control across the state. Despite facing numerous challenges – political, economic, secessionist and security related – […]
Yemen in 2014: 1500 Killed as Extremist Shiites took over Gov’t, battled al-Qaeda: What Next?
SANAA, December 2014 (IRIN) — After a negotiated transfer of power agreed in early 2012, the annual death toll dropped to about 1,100 and nearly halved again in 2013 to fewer than 600, according to the International Crisis Group. The uptick in violence in 2014 is the result of a number of distinct but inter-related […]